A Participatory Approach to Identify Key Areas for Sustainable Work Environment and Health in Employees with Flexible Work Arrangements

Abstract

Flexible work arrangements are common worldwide, but knowledge on how to achieve a sustainable work environment is sparse. The aim of this study was to use a participatory approach to identify concrete suggestions and key areas for improvement that were considered relevant, effective, and feasible for promoting good work environment and health at organizational, work group and individual level (O-G-I), among office employees with flexible work arrangements. Eight focus group interviews (including 45 employees) were conducted in a large Swedish government agency in 2017. By using a Tree diagram approach, employees made a total of 279 suggestions for improvements, which were sorted into O-G-I levels and mapped into 18 key areas. We found that 13 key areas addressed organizational level (e.g., improving leadership, policy, job demands, and work efficiency), two key areas addressed group level (create common rules of availability and activity-based working), and three key areas addressed individual level (e.g., individuals’ responsibility to clearly communicate their availability). The participatory process was effective in obtaining concrete suggestions and key areas in need of improvement, which may provide an action plan that can guide organizations in developing interventions to promote good work environment and health in flexible work.

Working from home during the COVID 19 pandemic: a longitudinal examination of employees’ sense of community and social support and impacts on self-rated health

“…Strategies may include: supportive organisational policies which support and facilitate flexible work arrangements as we shift to a hybrid way of working, this may include but is not limited to policies regarding the proportion of time in the office versus working from home, flexible work hours, and guidelines regarding the organisation of meetings, for example, all meetings are held as hybrid events to enable all to participate regardless of work location; regular, timely, and improved communications to foster a sense of mattering, connectedness and belonging; availability of and access to human resources supports including providing resources to facilitate improved leadership; constructive supervisor behaviours which enable open communication; and access to instrumental and emotional supports from colleagues and employers through formal and informal opportunities. These implications for practice are similar to those reported prior to the pandemic [ 22 , 47 ] suggesting, despite the vastly different contexts under which WFH occurred, employers need to adopt strategies to meet the needs of employees irrespective of work location, as hybrid ways of working become more common place and we shift away from the notion that WFH is the exception, negotiated on a case by case basis.…”

Double-Edged Sword Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Employee Innovation Performance: From the Demands–Resources–Individual Effects Perspective

“…In addition, the COVID-19 outbreak has given impetus to using digital technology for flexible working [1]. Businesses have widely used flexible work arrangements (FWAs) to attract, motivate, and retain critical knowledge-based talent in this context [2]. With the advent of the post-epidemic era, FWAs play an essential role in practice.…”

Analysis of Sustainable Communication Patterns during the Telework Period in Western Romanian Corporations

“…The necessity of such a research approach is also sustained by other studies that have been recently published. These underline the importance of implementing actions that support a performant background based on adjustability principles [ 57 ].…”